{"id":3997,"date":"2013-04-12T15:34:11","date_gmt":"2013-04-12T15:34:11","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.edf.org\/energyexchange\/?p=3997"},"modified":"2013-04-12T15:34:11","modified_gmt":"2013-04-12T15:34:11","slug":"a-clean-energy-paradise-in-the-pacific-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.edf.org\/energyexchange\/2013\/04\/12\/a-clean-energy-paradise-in-the-pacific-2\/","title":{"rendered":"A Clean Energy Paradise In The Pacific"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>When people think Hawaiian paradise, usually beaches, sun and trade winds come to mind. The price of energy? Not so much.<\/p>\n

The state actually has the highest electric rates in the nation, approximately 2 to 3 times higher than the average price on the mainland. Given these high rates and the relatively mild climate, it makes sense that Hawaii\u2019s customers are among the lowest monthly consumers of electricity at 585 kWh per month<\/a>. However, despite low energy use, Hawaii\u2019s customers still have the highest electric bills in the nation, at a whopping $203 per month<\/a> on average. That\u2019s 20 percent higher than the next highest state\u2019s average bill!<\/p>\n

It\u2019s appropriate, then, that the Aloha State is on the forefront of policy measures intended to lower energy bills by looking to energy efficiency and renewable energy<\/a>. Hawaii\u2019s sunny days, coupled with its extraordinarily high cost of electricity, make going solar a relatively attractive option. And, not to mention, a much cleaner option given that the state relies on petroleum to generate over 75 percent of its electricity. In fact, Hawaii ranks third<\/a> in the nation for total installed solar electric capacity per capita. However, the upfront cost of installation remains a significant barrier to widespread adoption of clean energy technologies. Access to financing is limited to those with stellar credit, and there is little incentive for renters to pay for energy upgrades to properties they don\u2019t own. In Hawaii, solutions that work for renters are especially important since over 40 percent<\/a> of the state\u2019s residents rent.<\/p>\n

But all is not lost. On February 1st<\/sup>, the Hawaii Public Utilities Commission (PUC) <\/a>delivered a blueprint of a promising on-bill program to help residents and small commercial customers — including renters — invest in cost-saving, clean energy projects. By allowing for repayment of private financing for energy efficiency and renewable projects on customers\u2019 monthly utility bills, Hawaii would be the first-in-the-nation to offer a statewide residential and small commercial on-bill program<\/a>. The program works for renters and property owners because the energy benefits and the repayment obligation transfer from tenant to tenant with the property, enabling customers to invest in projects that outlast their terms of occupancy.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
Source: www.worldgreen.org<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

I had the pleasure of spending a few days in Hawaii last week to meet with stakeholders, discuss the State\u2019s clean energy financing efforts on \u2018Insights on PBS Hawaii\u2019<\/a> and participate in the first working group established by the PUC to help meet the Jan 2, 2014 target start date for the on-bill program. With all of Hawaii\u2019s utilities on board, high interest from key energy efficiency vendors and solar developers and the PUC signaling this issue is on a fast-track, EDF is confident in the group\u2019s ability to achieve this goal. All signs point to more affordable, cleaner energy resources for both commercial and residential customers in Hawaii, which will save people money, create jobs and reduce harmful pollution. Sounds like paradise to me.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

When people think Hawaiian paradise, usually beaches, sun and trade winds come to mind. The price of energy? Not so much. The state actually has the highest electric rates in the nation, approximately 2 to 3 times higher than the average price on the mainland. Given these high rates and the relatively mild climate, it …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":8612,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[254,55217,177],"tags":[40309,40263],"coauthors":[],"class_list":["post-3997","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-energy-efficiency","category-on-bill-repayment-2","category-renewable-energy","tag-hawaii","tag-hawaii-puc"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nA Clean Energy Paradise In The Pacific - Energy Exchange<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/blogs.edf.org\/energyexchange\/2013\/04\/12\/a-clean-energy-paradise-in-the-pacific-2\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"A Clean Energy Paradise In The Pacific - Energy Exchange\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"When people think Hawaiian paradise, usually beaches, sun and trade winds come to mind. The price of energy? Not so much. The state actually has the highest electric rates in the nation, approximately 2 to 3 times higher than the average price on the mainland. Given these high rates and the relatively mild climate, it ...\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/blogs.edf.org\/energyexchange\/2013\/04\/12\/a-clean-energy-paradise-in-the-pacific-2\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Energy Exchange\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2013-04-12T15:34:11+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"http:\/\/blogs.edf.org\/energyexchange\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/38\/files\/2013\/04\/Jessica-Feingold1-200x300.jpg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.edf.org\\\/energyexchange\\\/2013\\\/04\\\/12\\\/a-clean-energy-paradise-in-the-pacific-2\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.edf.org\\\/energyexchange\\\/2013\\\/04\\\/12\\\/a-clean-energy-paradise-in-the-pacific-2\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"\",\"@id\":\"\"},\"headline\":\"A Clean Energy Paradise In The Pacific\",\"datePublished\":\"2013-04-12T15:34:11+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.edf.org\\\/energyexchange\\\/2013\\\/04\\\/12\\\/a-clean-energy-paradise-in-the-pacific-2\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":508,\"commentCount\":1,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.edf.org\\\/energyexchange\\\/2013\\\/04\\\/12\\\/a-clean-energy-paradise-in-the-pacific-2\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"http:\\\/\\\/blogs.edf.org\\\/energyexchange\\\/wp-content\\\/blogs.dir\\\/38\\\/files\\\/2013\\\/04\\\/Jessica-Feingold1-200x300.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"Hawaii\",\"Hawaii PUC\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Energy Efficiency\",\"On-bill repayment\",\"Renewable Energy\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.edf.org\\\/energyexchange\\\/2013\\\/04\\\/12\\\/a-clean-energy-paradise-in-the-pacific-2\\\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.edf.org\\\/energyexchange\\\/2013\\\/04\\\/12\\\/a-clean-energy-paradise-in-the-pacific-2\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.edf.org\\\/energyexchange\\\/2013\\\/04\\\/12\\\/a-clean-energy-paradise-in-the-pacific-2\\\/\",\"name\":\"A Clean Energy Paradise In The Pacific - Energy Exchange\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.edf.org\\\/energyexchange\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.edf.org\\\/energyexchange\\\/2013\\\/04\\\/12\\\/a-clean-energy-paradise-in-the-pacific-2\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.edf.org\\\/energyexchange\\\/2013\\\/04\\\/12\\\/a-clean-energy-paradise-in-the-pacific-2\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"http:\\\/\\\/blogs.edf.org\\\/energyexchange\\\/wp-content\\\/blogs.dir\\\/38\\\/files\\\/2013\\\/04\\\/Jessica-Feingold1-200x300.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2013-04-12T15:34:11+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.edf.org\\\/energyexchange\\\/2013\\\/04\\\/12\\\/a-clean-energy-paradise-in-the-pacific-2\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.edf.org\\\/energyexchange\\\/2013\\\/04\\\/12\\\/a-clean-energy-paradise-in-the-pacific-2\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.edf.org\\\/energyexchange\\\/2013\\\/04\\\/12\\\/a-clean-energy-paradise-in-the-pacific-2\\\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"http:\\\/\\\/blogs.edf.org\\\/energyexchange\\\/wp-content\\\/blogs.dir\\\/38\\\/files\\\/2013\\\/04\\\/Jessica-Feingold1-200x300.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"http:\\\/\\\/blogs.edf.org\\\/energyexchange\\\/wp-content\\\/blogs.dir\\\/38\\\/files\\\/2013\\\/04\\\/Jessica-Feingold1-200x300.jpg\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.edf.org\\\/energyexchange\\\/2013\\\/04\\\/12\\\/a-clean-energy-paradise-in-the-pacific-2\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.edf.org\\\/energyexchange\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"A Clean Energy Paradise In The Pacific\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.edf.org\\\/energyexchange\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.edf.org\\\/energyexchange\\\/\",\"name\":\"Energy Exchange\",\"description\":\"Accelerating the clean energy revolution\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.edf.org\\\/energyexchange\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.edf.org\\\/energyexchange\\\/author\\\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"A Clean Energy Paradise In The Pacific - Energy Exchange","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/blogs.edf.org\/energyexchange\/2013\/04\/12\/a-clean-energy-paradise-in-the-pacific-2\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"A Clean Energy Paradise In The Pacific - Energy Exchange","og_description":"When people think Hawaiian paradise, usually beaches, sun and trade winds come to mind. The price of energy? Not so much. The state actually has the highest electric rates in the nation, approximately 2 to 3 times higher than the average price on the mainland. Given these high rates and the relatively mild climate, it ...","og_url":"https:\/\/blogs.edf.org\/energyexchange\/2013\/04\/12\/a-clean-energy-paradise-in-the-pacific-2\/","og_site_name":"Energy Exchange","article_published_time":"2013-04-12T15:34:11+00:00","og_image":[{"url":"http:\/\/blogs.edf.org\/energyexchange\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/38\/files\/2013\/04\/Jessica-Feingold1-200x300.jpg","type":"","width":"","height":""}],"twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"","Est. reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/blogs.edf.org\/energyexchange\/2013\/04\/12\/a-clean-energy-paradise-in-the-pacific-2\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/blogs.edf.org\/energyexchange\/2013\/04\/12\/a-clean-energy-paradise-in-the-pacific-2\/"},"author":{"name":"","@id":""},"headline":"A Clean Energy Paradise In The Pacific","datePublished":"2013-04-12T15:34:11+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/blogs.edf.org\/energyexchange\/2013\/04\/12\/a-clean-energy-paradise-in-the-pacific-2\/"},"wordCount":508,"commentCount":1,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/blogs.edf.org\/energyexchange\/2013\/04\/12\/a-clean-energy-paradise-in-the-pacific-2\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"http:\/\/blogs.edf.org\/energyexchange\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/38\/files\/2013\/04\/Jessica-Feingold1-200x300.jpg","keywords":["Hawaii","Hawaii PUC"],"articleSection":["Energy Efficiency","On-bill repayment","Renewable Energy"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/blogs.edf.org\/energyexchange\/2013\/04\/12\/a-clean-energy-paradise-in-the-pacific-2\/#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/blogs.edf.org\/energyexchange\/2013\/04\/12\/a-clean-energy-paradise-in-the-pacific-2\/","url":"https:\/\/blogs.edf.org\/energyexchange\/2013\/04\/12\/a-clean-energy-paradise-in-the-pacific-2\/","name":"A Clean Energy Paradise In The Pacific - Energy Exchange","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/blogs.edf.org\/energyexchange\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/blogs.edf.org\/energyexchange\/2013\/04\/12\/a-clean-energy-paradise-in-the-pacific-2\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/blogs.edf.org\/energyexchange\/2013\/04\/12\/a-clean-energy-paradise-in-the-pacific-2\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"http:\/\/blogs.edf.org\/energyexchange\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/38\/files\/2013\/04\/Jessica-Feingold1-200x300.jpg","datePublished":"2013-04-12T15:34:11+00:00","author":{"@id":""},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/blogs.edf.org\/energyexchange\/2013\/04\/12\/a-clean-energy-paradise-in-the-pacific-2\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/blogs.edf.org\/energyexchange\/2013\/04\/12\/a-clean-energy-paradise-in-the-pacific-2\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/blogs.edf.org\/energyexchange\/2013\/04\/12\/a-clean-energy-paradise-in-the-pacific-2\/#primaryimage","url":"http:\/\/blogs.edf.org\/energyexchange\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/38\/files\/2013\/04\/Jessica-Feingold1-200x300.jpg","contentUrl":"http:\/\/blogs.edf.org\/energyexchange\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/38\/files\/2013\/04\/Jessica-Feingold1-200x300.jpg"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/blogs.edf.org\/energyexchange\/2013\/04\/12\/a-clean-energy-paradise-in-the-pacific-2\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/blogs.edf.org\/energyexchange\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"A Clean Energy Paradise In The Pacific"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/blogs.edf.org\/energyexchange\/#website","url":"https:\/\/blogs.edf.org\/energyexchange\/","name":"Energy Exchange","description":"Accelerating the clean energy revolution","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/blogs.edf.org\/energyexchange\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"","url":"https:\/\/blogs.edf.org\/energyexchange\/author\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.edf.org\/energyexchange\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3997","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.edf.org\/energyexchange\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.edf.org\/energyexchange\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.edf.org\/energyexchange\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/8612"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.edf.org\/energyexchange\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3997"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.edf.org\/energyexchange\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3997\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.edf.org\/energyexchange\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3997"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.edf.org\/energyexchange\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3997"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.edf.org\/energyexchange\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3997"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.edf.org\/energyexchange\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/coauthors?post=3997"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}